Naruto Shorts
by PropylPeopleEther
Summary: Inner Character thoughts on things that have, have not, and may not ever happen.
1. Ninja rank

Sometimes Sasuke cursed his decision to come back. It had seemed like a good decision at the time but, after once again being reminded of his ninja rank, he had the urge to leave and destroy some hapless village. If only to prove he was more powerful than a genin.

As it was, he was going through his second chunnin exam.

And, he was fighting against children. 12-year-old, snotty, 1st year ninja children. He felt like an idiot. And to make matters worse, his lovers were on the sidelines cheering him on. There was just something wrong with a grown man being cheered on. Unfortunately, his lovers felt it wrong for one lover to not support the other, or others in their case.

So here he was, in the final rounds, trying not to roll his eyes at his opponent as the boy revealed his ultimate attack, the worst impression of dragon's breath he had ever seen. Not only could the boy not aim, he also couldn't get it bigger than a few feet wide. Sasuke took a few steps to the side and avoided the attack entirely. While waiting for the boy to finish, Sasuke tried to think of an attack that wouldn't make him look, and feel, like an ass when it connected. He took a quick peek, more like a long stare the boy did have stamina, at the stands and saw a few of the not-so-rookie nine and guy's team and his embarrassment came back ten-fold. Most of them, it seemed, had fallen out of their chair in hysterics. Even the Hokage looked like she might have chuckled if it weren't for her stand out position.

Yes, some days Sasuke hated his decision to come back. Hated it with a passion.

After the tournament, which he had so _shockingly_ won, and the presentation of all those to make chunnin was held, which _did_ include him, he and his lovers went to dinner at Ichiraku's to celebrate his 'achievement'. The ramen was nice as it always was and the company was good, but something kept bothering him throughout the meal. He supposed it was the congratulatory pats on the back from his 'competitors' and the fact he couldn't tell them to shove off because, for them, it _was_ an achievement.

It was all terribly embarrassing. At least, it was, until his lover's took him home and gave him his own private congratulations party. And somewhere between the door and the bed, Sasuke wondered why he had ever thought it a good idea to leave.

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Decided not to tell his lovers' names, but I had Naruto and Sakura in mind.

Comments and reviews much appreciated 


	2. He really should have known better

Looking back on it, he really should have known better. Good guy's got girls. Bad guy's got girls. Good guy's gone bad that go good again…they got nothing.

Except dirty looks.

And the occasional sneer followed by cowering.

Nothing really in terms of love. And what, had he expected her to wait for him when she wasn't even sure if he was coming back? Especially after he had tried to kill her best friend, who, at some point, had shifted from him to Naruto. He was trying to figure that one out too. But nonetheless, he really should have known better.

Yet, even after catching Sakura leaving Ino's apartment on several late nights, and a few early mornings, he still didn't really understand what had happened.

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This was meant to be a small one-shot kinda thing, but it kept growing, and then I got a new idea, which is also a kinda one-shot thing, so I figured I'd put them together. I'll probably end up posting a few more, depending on my muse, and if you have any requests I won't guarantee anything, but I'll give it a thought. And they won't all be from Sasuke's POV, just how these two came out.

All comments and questions are much appreciated


	3. He Would Remember

**He would remember**

It was no secret that, before team 7, Naruto hadn't had a family. It wasn't like his parents were bad or anything. They were just dead.

He supposed the nine-tails fox, now in him, was to blame. He really wasn't sure what to feel about that though. What he was sure about, was the unyielding loneliness that came with the fact. He was also sure, he had never been happier, than when he had finally gotten a family.

They were very special to him, and he held every memory of them close to his heart. Every minute he wasn't training, he spent remembering his family.

He remembered all the shy smiles Sakura gave him when she thought no one was looking.

He remembered all his attempts to best Sasuke at starting a camp fire, even though Sasuke was the one with the fire jutsus.

He remembered the times Kakashi kept watch all night long so Sasuke, Sakura, and his self could get all the rest they could.

Naruto sometimes thought about what Sasuke had said during their last fight, about not knowing what it felt like to lose everyone because he had never had anyone. At the time, Naruto had believed him to be right.

But, after spending two and a half years training to bring his family back together, Naruto thought that having family for a short time and losing it was worse than having family for a long time and losing it.

The next time he saw Sasuke, He would remember to tell him that.


	4. Stories End

_Because time doesn't stop at "happily ever after"_

**How All Stories E****nd**

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Sakura didn't know why she was surprised. This was how stories always ended. It didn't matter if the good were victorious, or if the villains were redeemed, or if all the warriors fell to the dark side.

This was how it always ended.

This unwritten scene story tellers never mention, as if trying to fool you into thinking happily ever after was actually how it stayed. But if it was one thing a shinobe understood, it was that a life couldn't last forever. As time progresses, it wears away the mortal body until eventually the story did come to an end, as the body came to an ending.

Sakura stared at the solemn, black rock for a few more minutes, the end of her story would come to an end soon too.


End file.
